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The Maquila Solidarity Network, the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF) have regularly called attention to the need for structural measures to end the consistent and ongoing worker rights violations in the Bangladeshi garment industry.
Two complaints about the impact of high production targets and long work shifts on women workers’ health has exposed the limitations of existing multi-stakeholder code monitoring initiatives.
The death of more than 300 garment workers in a September 11 factory fire in Karachi, Pakistan has exposed the total failure of the provincial Ministry of Labour, the major buyer sourcing from the factory, and a US-based multi-stakeholder initiative to ensure respect for the country’s health and safety laws.
Over 300 workers were killed in devastating factory fires on 11 September 2012 at a garment factory in Karachi and a shoe factory in Lahore, Pakistan. We urge all MSN supporters to join a LabourStart campaign by writing to the Pakistani Prime Minister calling on his government to investigate and punish those responsible, fully compensate the victims and their families, and identify the gaps in public oversight that allow factory owners to operate unsafe workplaces.
In February 2011, the Honduran Women's Collective (CODEMUH) filed a complaint with the Fair Labor Association (FLA) alleging that 57 workers at Honduran factories owned by Canadian t-shirt manufacturer Gildan Activewear had suffered debilitating injures due to long work shifts, the intense pace of production and high production targets.
A new study co-authored by the Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN - Canada), the Honduran Independent Monitoring Team (EMIH), and Professionals for Corporate Social Auditing (PASE - Nicaragua) challenges the conventional wisdom that competing on the basis of cheap labour is the only option for poor garment producing countries.
On March 29, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) released a much-anticipated report on its investigation into the labour practices at three Foxconn factories in China employing close to 180,000 workers who manufacture electronic devices for Apple including iPads and iPhones.
On January 26, the Nicaraguan Parliament unanimously approved a Comprehensive Violence Against Women Act, a victory for women's organizations that have long struggled to bring attention to this issue. The new law represents an important step towards addressing the serious problem of gender-based violence that is facing Nicaragua.
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